Comparison / Experience ZWO AM5, iOptron HAE29, HAE69EC, Warpastron WD20, Pegasus Astro NYX-101 mount

Hi Karl,

Since you asked about my colleague's experiences and my impressions:

Unfortunately, we couldn't meet until yesterday evening because the weather wasn't right until yesterday.
There were three of us, not two of us.

My colleague with his HAE29 and 69EC, another with a WD20 from Warpastron, and me with my AM5.

I had my FRA300 with me.
On the HAE29, there was a Vixen FL55ss.
On the 69EC, there was a C9.25 EHD, and on the WD20, there was a regular C9.25.

It wasn't a big jump from the AM5 to the HAE29.
The AM5 is more comfortable to use.
You don't have to carry the hand controller around, and you don't need any tools for polarity adjustment.
Furthermore, the HAE29 adjusts much more if you close the clamps after polarity adjustment.
The trick is: first adjust roughly, then tighten slightly, adjust further, tighten again until almost tight, adjust, and then tighten completely. This minimizes the resulting error.
The AM5 has a much better solution.
During guiding, it didn't change much.

Regarding the HAE69EC:
I can lift the thing without any problems, but I don't need the 30 kg payload.
I can save myself the money. I couldn't lift a telescope in that weight class on my own.

The 69EC has the same problem with polar alignment as the HAE29.
But it has a power output on the saddle and a USB port for connecting the mount to a PC.
This way, there's no cable dangling from a moving part. That's great!
I can't say how useful the encoder is. As far as I can see, you can't turn it off.
My colleague said he would have preferred to get the regular one.
He's heard from other users that the difference when guiding is very small/nonexistent.

With both HAEs and my AM5, the guiding was perfectly adequate for the telescopes used.
It can always be better, but at what price?

Now here's the thing: the WD20 from Warpastron:
I had already read a lot about the mount.
Price-wise, it's on par with the HAE43, at around €3,000.
Servo motors on both axes. Both axes are direct-drive.
So there are no belts between the HD gears like with iOptron or the AM5.

The thing is brilliantly made. In my opinion, it feels better than iOptron's HAEs.
The polar wedge is a pleasure. The polar adjustment doesn't change noticeably when you tighten the clamps.
The guiding was very good. If you look at the graph in PHD2, the mount responds extremely quickly and doesn't require multiple correction commands.
The only thing you have to get used to is the software, Onstep.
But once you've set it up, you don't have to touch it again anyway.
Visually, the mount won't be as much fun because the hand controller isn't as good as, for example, the iOptron.

If I had to compare the mounts now...
The HAE29 is very good in terms of price/performance, but the AM5 is considerably more comfortable.
I would always go for the AM5.

The HAE69 is great because it can carry so much weight.
But if I plan on using a telescope that pushes the mount to its limits, I might as well just use a "normal" mount... With that weight, portability is no longer relevant.
I'm not entirely sure why the mount even exists :D

The WD20 is a truly well-rounded package if you're not into visual observation.
The polar alignment is a pleasure.
The big disadvantage is the price if you want to buy it here in Germany or Europe.
But you can get it directly from China for under €3,000 including shipping, customs, etc.

Regards,
Brian

Hi Karl,

I was at my colleague's house today with the Nyx.
He told me about the exact problems you had told me about.
Now he finally has a stable software version, so he's not switching to the new one for fear of problems again.
Too bad. When I look at it, it looks good.
The polar wedge isn't the best either, but it's probably better than the one in the first version.
However, I think the mount is too expensive for the price.

He also has a C9.25, which I'm also a little interested in.
I had my AM5 with me to test how it behaves.
We noticed a problem because the mount was shaking a lot again.

Behind the clamp for the up/down adjustment of the polarity cradle are silver screws in a silver ring.
One of the screws wasn't fully in, preventing the clamp from being fully tightened, and the polarity cradle was still slightly loose.
After tightening the screw, the clamp closes completely, and the C9.25 is held very well, with no noticeable wobble.

Now I'm back home and have put my LZOS on it.
Lo and behold, the wobble is barely noticeable anymore.

Regards,
Brian